Ode To My Diploma
February 11, 2014 § 3 Comments
I trudged to my mailbox one day in the cold
to find an envelope proclaiming “Do Not Fold.”
I opened it quickly to find you in my hand,
a single piece of paper, worth close to forty grand.
So unassuming and simple, almost nonchalant,
your importance only revealed by your fancy Gothic font.
My years of arduous and tedious work, of essays and exams,
all culminate in this single sheet, weighing just 4.5 small grams.
While I hiked uphill to the library, in the coldest nights of winter,
you waited patiently in Strong Hall, blank card-stock in the printer.
You were just a piece of paper, not sure what you’d become
and now, congrats Diploma, you’re something to be hung.
On my office wall you’ll go, next to your undergraduate twin,
at the very top of the paper-chain, in a frame looking out from within.
So thank you, little Diploma, for validating my dedication,
without you I’d just be a student, awaiting graduation.
And on the other end of the coin, perhaps in another time and place,
without me you’d be just a napkin, wiping someone’s face.
Two Limericks
February 7, 2014 § Leave a comment
Wrote these for a Limerick contest in my hometown newspaper 🙂
As a KC native who likes to explore,
and travel to places beyond my front door,
it never comes as a surprise
when a Californian cries,
“You’re not in Kansas anymore!”
While our sports teams, they may not glitter
there’s other things we must consider.
We beat the competition
with our nice dispositions
and this makes KC a true winner!
Every Word
February 7, 2014 § Leave a comment
every word
and story written
penned
etched on paper
can be read in daylight
by any searching eye
but the pure, tragic
emotion, the space
between lines,
the breath unheard
that gulps
and swallows
dialogue and meaning
before it can stain
the pen’s canvas
will only ever
begin to be
understood
not by the one who studies
the text, but
by the one
who holds
the pen
Winter Leaf
February 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
drifting
downward from a home
above, somewhere far
overhead,
rushing
to meet the glass
twirling
and spinning, the dance
of a lost soul, a spirit
freed, separated
from what it knew
as home, finally
touching
the surface
gently, then aburptly
drawing
an inky circle, and another
ripples scattering
in perfect patterns,
every direction of silky glass
waving
gently outward
from a small piece of nature
seperated from its home
above
standing on my backporch at eleven pm after a snow storm
January 31, 2014 § Leave a comment
silence and a soft cold
the yellow landscape
tricks eyes into thinking
it’s dusk, highlighting objects
that go unnoticed most nights
at eleven pm
and a whispering echo
moving from north to south
gently lifts moisture from the ground
glittering
and moving quickly
like a school of frozen
fish in a pond
of yellowy light
it sends ice on a journey
of purposeful patterns
of bending and swirling
and pieces too small to see
touch your face
their cold surface pricking you
for only a second
before melting away
to another place.
Beginning
January 30, 2014 § Leave a comment
did it start at Genesis
at the ABC
or at the very beginning
of the end
with hope
on the right foot
stepping from number one
or a countdown
from ten did it start
at first-things-first
or slow and steady wins
and second is the best
when the good guys
finish last or was it
the chicken or the egg
a Big Bang that cut
the ribbon
at the line
signaling a small start
with a sunrise
in a new chapter
breaking the ground
of a page turn
at the omniscient alpha
just before the fresh tomorrow
that’s dancing
like there isn’t one
was that exactly and precisely
where it started
and where
it all began
first date conversation
January 29, 2014 § Leave a comment
thoughts and words
spewing
responding
considerations
and emotions
one after another
breathless
urgent
hurried
and then
an ended phrase
a breath taken
and exhaled
stillness
then silence
a blank stare
a closed mouth
a blink
a smile
empty space
red face
no match of phrase
legs shift
hands cross
ears burn
a yawn
brain searching
signals crossing
words lost
in an over-trodden
forest of the universal
awkward silence
Unknown
January 27, 2014 § Leave a comment
the unknown is incredible
and mystery is remarkable
and should be embraced as unequivocal
for if everything were explainable
then love would be too logical
and the stars wouldn’t be as magical
dreams might become impossible
and new life wouldn’t be so wonderful
while wishes may turn improbable
and who would want to live in a world
so completely rational?
the chaos is to be embraced
lets celebrate the implausible.
rosepoems 